Muscle memory is a puzzling phenomenon. Most bodybuilders have experie

Question

Passage A

Muscle memory is a puzzling phenomenon.
Most bodybuilders have experienced this phenomenon,
yet virtually no discussions of it have appeared in
scientific publications. Bodybuilders who start training
  (5)   again after a period of inactivity find that gaining
muscle size seems easier the second time around 
even if starting from the same place. With so many
athletes observing muscle memory, some plausible
explanation must exist.

(10)   One potential explanation of muscle memory
involves the neurons (nerve cells) that stimulate your
muscles, telling the muscle fibers to contract. It is
well established that during weight lifting, only a
small percentage of neurons for the working muscles
  (15)   are recruited. The more weight you lift, the more
neurons are involved and the more muscle fibers are
stimulated. But even when attempting your maximum
weight, you don't recruit all the fibers in your working
muscles. Now it could be that one way your body
  (20)   adapts to the demands of consistent training is by
gradually increasing the percentage of muscle fibers
that are stimulated by neurons during maximal lifts.
When you're making a comeback, this ability to
recruit more muscle fibers may remain intact. If so,
  (25)   your muscles would start with a greater capacity to
develop force. Although you may think you 're starting
from the same place, this greater strength would
enable faster progress.

Then again, it's also possible that the ease of
  (30)   retraining has nothing to do with your muscles: it
could all be in your head. The first time you trained,
you didn't know how much you could lift. So you
increased weight cautiously. When retraining, you
already know you can handle increasing weight
  (35)   because you've done it before. So you are likely to
add weight more rapidly. These more rapid weight
increases produce quicker gains in strength and size.

Passage B

Pumping up is easier for people who have been
buff before, and now scientists think they know
  (40)   why-muscles retain one aspect of their former
fitness even as they wither from lack of use.

Because muscle cells are huge, more than one
nucleus is needed for making the large amounts of the
proteins that give muscles their strength. Previous
  (45)   research has demonstrated that with exercise, muscle
cells get even bigger by merging with stem cells that
are nested between them. The muscle cells incorporate
the nuclei that previously belonged to the stem cells.
Researchers had thought that when muscles atrophy,
  (50)   the extra cell nuclei are killed by a cell death program
called apoptosis.

In a recent study, researchers regularly stimulated
the leg muscles of mice over a two-week period,
during which time the muscle cells gained nuclei and
  (55)   increased in size. The researchers then let the muscles
rest. As the muscles atrophied, the cells deflated to
about 40 percent of their bulked-up size, but the
number of nuclei in the cells did not change. Since the
extra nuclei don't die, they could be poised to make
  (60)   muscle proteins again, providing a type of muscle
memory at the cellular level.    1 
 1. Both passages seek an answer to which one of the following questions?

(A) Why are explanations in the field of exercise physiology so inconclusive?
(B) What is the best way for bodybuilders to begin training again after a period of inactivity?
(C) Why is building muscle easier for people who have done so in the past?
(D) Is muscle memory a purely psychological phenomenon?
(E) Is there a psychological basis for the increases in muscle size and strength that result from exercise?

2 
 2. Passage B, but not passage A, seeks to achieve its purpose by

(A) questioning the reality of an alleged phenomenon
(B) discussing the results of a recent scientific experiment
(C) appealing to the reader's personal experience
(D) considering the psychological factors involved in bodybuilding
(E) speculating about the cause of an observed phenomenon

3 
 3. Passage B, unlike passage A, suggests that the phenomenon of muscle memory might be due to

(A) muscle cells' ability to merge with stem cells
(B) the body's ability to adapt to consistent training
(C) psychological factors
(D) a cell death program known as apoptosis
(E) the neurons that stimulate muscles

4 
 4. It can be inferred from the passages that the author of passage A

(A) is more certain than the author of passage B about the existence of muscle memory
(B) probably agrees with the author of passage B about the explanation for muscle memory
(C) was probably not aware of the scientific research that is described in passage B
(D) probably disagrees with the author of passage B about how muscle cells' nuclei affect muscle strength
(E) tends to be more skeptical than the author of passage B about conclusions drawn about one species on the basis of experiments involving another species

5 
 5. Given the style and tone of each passage, which one of the following is most likely to correctly describe the expected audience of each passage?

(A) Passage A: skeptics of the phenomenon under discussion Passage B: people with personal experience of the phenomenon under discussion
(B) Passage A: scientific researchers Passage B: athletic trainers and coaches
(C) Passage A: athletes who work with a trainer Passage B: people who pursue a fitness program on their own
(D) Passage A: bodybuilders Passage B: a general audience
(E) Passage A: sports psychologists Passage B: exercise physiologists

6 
 6. The author of passage B would be most likely to hold which one of the following views about the characterization of muscle memory offered in the first sentence of passage A?

(A) It confirms that bodybuilders' experiences should not be accepted at face value.
(B) It reflects a dichotomy between athletes' experience and processes occurring at the cellular level of their muscles.
(C) It would not be accepted by most athletes who have started retraining after a period of inactivity.
(D) It is less apt now in light of recent research than it was before that research was conducted.
(E) It stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the principles of exercise psychology.

7 
 7. Which one of the following is explicitly mentioned in passage B but not in passage A?

(A) the condition of a person's muscles when that person begins retraining
(B) muscles' adaptation to exercise
(C) the percentage of muscle fibers used in a working muscle
(D) the prevalence of discussions of muscle memory in scientific publications
(E) the large amounts of protein responsible for muscles' strength

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. Which one of the following is explicitly mentioned in passage B but not in passage A?

Explanation

This question asks which answer choice is explicitly stated in passage B but not in passage A. Evaluate each answer choice against both passages to find an idea that is explicitly stated in passage B only. Be wary of answer choices that state ideas from passage A only, from both passages, or from neither passage.

A. No.  Passage A discusses muscle condition before retraining in  lines 23–26,  and passage B discusses it in  lines 38–41.

B. No.  Both passages discuss muscles’ adaptation to exercise.

C. No.  Passage A discusses the percentage of muscle fibers in  lines 13–15 , but passage B does not.

D. No.  Passage A discusses the prevalence of discussions in scientific publications in  lines 3–4 , but passage B does not.

E.  Yes.   This is a paraphrase of  lines 43–44.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. Given the style and tone of each passage, which one of the following is most likely to correctly describe the expected audience of each passage?

Explanation

This question asks for the relationship between the intended audiences of each passage. Be wary of answer choices that confuse the relationship, that are half correct, or that are a poor match for the Bottom Line.

A. No.  Passage A does not seek to convince skeptics, and passage B is aimed at a general audience. Passage A is aimed at those with direct experience.

B. No.  Passage A is aimed at bodybuilders, and passage B is aimed at a general audience.

C. No.  Passage A does not imply the use of a personal trainer, and passage B does not imply that people are working out on their own.

D.  Yes.   Passage A references bodybuilders and weight lifting in  lines 2, 4, 13,  and  15  and addresses the second person, e.g.,  “The first time you trained, you didn’t know how much you could lift”  in  lines 31–32.  Passage B is written in lay terms and summarizes a new scientific explanation for a common phenomenon many people experience when training.

E. No.  Passage A mentions a possible psychological explanation, but the context of the passage indicates that bodybuilders are the primary audience. Passage B is aimed at a general audience.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

6. The author of passage B would be most likely to hold which one of the following views about the characterization of muscle memory offered in the first sentence of passage A?

Explanation

This question asks which answer choice is supported by the ideas or tone of passage B. Evaluate each answer choice against both passages to find support. Be wary of answer choices that introduce new ideas, that contradict ideas from passage B, that are too extreme, or that are supported by passage A only.

A.  Passage B does not invalidate bodybuilders’ experiences; it merely offers a different explanation for their experience of muscle memory.

B.  Passage A’s explanations are consistent with athletes’ experiences, even if they are ultimately incorrect.

C.  We cannot speculate on which explanations athletes would find convincing.

D.  Passage B’s explanation differs from those offered in passage A, and because this explanation is supported by research while those in passage A are not, the author of passage B might think his is the better explanation.

E.  Passage B does not discuss the psychological aspect of muscle memory.

Answer: D

dhruva09 · Answer

Can someone help with a proper explanation Q6. I am not able to understand how option D is correct and how to eliminate option B.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi dhruva09

Passage A  begins by calling muscle memory a  "puzzling phenomenon"  and notes that while bodybuilders commonly experience it, scientific literature has largely ignored it. This framing suggests that muscle memory was poorly understood and lacked a clear biological explanation before recent research.

Passage B  presents new scientific evidence (the 2010 study on mice) showing that:

1. Muscle cells retain extra nuclei even after atrophy.
2. These nuclei allow for faster regrowth when retraining, explaining the  "memory"  effect at a cellular level.

This research provides a concrete mechanism for what was previously just an observed but unexplained phenomenon.

The first sentence of  Passage A  presents muscle memory as mysterious and underexplored. However, Passage B’s research demystifies it by revealing the cellular basis (extra nuclei retention). Thus, the author of Passage B would likely argue that calling it  "puzzling"  is less accurate now that science has uncovered its mechanism.

While there is a dichotomy (anecdotal vs. cellular), the author of  Passage B  resolves it with research, rather than just  "reflecting"  it. Hence  (B)  is incorrect. on the other hand  (D)  is correct bacuse The term  "puzzling"  was fitting before the research in  Passage B , but now that we have an explanation, it’s less appropriate.

The author of Passage B would likely say:  "We used to think this was mysterious, but now we know why it happens."

Answer: D

Muscle memory is a puzzling phenomenon. Most bodybuilders have experie

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Muscle memory is a puzzling phenomenon. Most bodybuilders have experie

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